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"The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy..."

Text: 2 Timothy 1:18

DEEPLY IMPACTED

The heart of the Apostle Paul must have been deeply touched by the kindness that Onesiphorus showed to him. What a contrast he was to those who fled from him in his hour of need. Perhaps they fled because they were afraid to be implicated and may find themselves in jail with Paul. But not Onesiphorus! He boldly and unashamedly aligned himself with Paul, even if that meant imprisonment!

AN INTERESTING REPETION

Paul was deeply moved to repeat himself in asking for the Lord’s blessing of mercy on Onesiphorus!

“The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord
in that Day- and you know very well how many ways
he ministered to me at Ephesus.”
2 Timothy 1:18

1. “The Lord”

a) In the same sentence Paul repeated the name of the Lord twice.

b) This was unusual.

c) The Lord’s name was invoked for emphasis!

2. “Mercy from the Lord”

a) This word “mercy” was used in 2 Timothy 1:16.

b) It was used in 2 Timothy 1:18.

c) Some reasons why this word was used in this manner.

i) The mercy of the Lord was something that Paul had experienced personally in his life

ii) It was an especially precious and personal blessing that he highly valued.

iii) The words “mercy” and “grace” featured greatly in Paul’s theological vocabulary.

iv) The prayer for God’s mercy would represent just about the best blessing Paul could wish.

3. “In that Day”

a) This is a reference to the Day when the Lord would judge.

b) The most needed blessing then would truly be the Lord’s “mercy”.

4. “And you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus”

a) Timothy was privy to what Onesiphorus did for Paul.

b) When Paul was at Ephesus, Onesiphorus ministered to the apostle in many ways!

c) Onesiphorus had shown deep loyalty and love to Paul.

d) Paul wanted Timothy to learn how to have the highest regard for such an outstanding man of God, for such people are rare indeed!